Sriracha Hot Sauce Closed Down Due To Complaints

Residents of Irwindale, California, got fed up with bearing watery eyes and intolerable odors from a nearby hot sauce factory owned by famous manufacturer Sriracha. Many residents have noted headaches and irritated throats as well, with at least one resident complaining about having to move a whole birthday party inside to avoid these side effects from the environment. The Los Angeles Times reports that about 30 people have filed complaints against Sriracha producer Huy Fong Foods, causing the city of Irwindale to file suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday with claims that the odor was a “public nuisance”. The order asked a judge to stop production until the smell can be better managed and ultimately reduced.

Irwindale officals repeatedly met with representatives from Huy Fong Foods to discuss methods of reducing the odors, according to the suit. Huy Fong representatives cooperated at first but later denied there was an odor problem, saying their employees worked in similar olfactory settings without complaint, Galante said.

Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha sauce was invented in Chinatown by Vietnamese immigrant David Tran. The sauce quickly grew in popularity, and it’s green-capped clear plastic bottle has become a fixture at restaurants around the the U.S., even spawning a cookbook, a Lay’s chip flavor and a pending documentary. Last Sunday, crowds gathered downtown for the first ever L.A. Sriracha Festival.

Huy Fong Foods, which makes two other sauces, had operated out of two buildings in Rosemead since the late 1980s. The company began sauce production in a 655,000-square-foot factory in Irwindale last year.